1901 Denmark Census

2,483,570 records

The 1901 census of Denmark was taken on February 1, 1901. It covered the entire Kingdom of Denmark, including the two constituent countries of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Information recorded in the census includes: name, residence, gender, birth date, birthplace, marital status, position in family, profession, and religious affiliation. For individuals who were born outside of, or who had for some time permanently resided outside of, the parish in which they currently resided, two additional questions were asked—what year they took residence in the current parish, and last residence before moving to this parish. For individuals who were married or widowed, additional questions were asked about their marriage and children.

Every individual within a household at the time of the census, whether family, visitor, or employee, was enumerated on the Main List (Hoved Liste). Individuals who were absent from their usual home on census day were also enumerated on the Appendix List (Tillægsliste) of the locality where they usually resided. Note: If present, the Appendix List for a locality appears immediately after the Main List pages. Be sure to click forward through the images to see if there is an Appendix List page and find out if there was anyone from your household of interest that was absent on census day. For individuals enumerated on the Appendix List, information regarding their temporary whereabouts was requested.

For market towns (købstad), the census is organized by county (amt), town (købstad), and street (gade). For rural areas, the census is organized by county (amt), district (herred), and parish (sogn). For the municipalities (kommune) of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, the census is organized by municipality, and then street (gade). The user should also note that the geopolitical boundaries within Denmark have significantly changed since the 1901 census was taken. Between 1970 and 1974 the number of municipal governing regions (kommune) dropped from 1,098 to 275, and then down to 98 in 2007. This collection presents localities in the jurisdictions as they existed at the time of the census.

Research tip: Individuals often had multiple given names. However, in the census you may find individuals only listed with one of their given names—usually the one the individual most often went by—or even listed by their nickname. If at first an individual cannot be found under a particular given name, trying searching for the individual under one of their other given names, or by all of them together.

This collection is provided in partnership with the Danish National Archives (Rigsarkivet).